Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responds to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's claim that there are dynasties in Bharatiya Janata Party as he cited examples of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his son Jay Shah, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his son Pankaj Singh and Anurag Thakur with his lineage. Sarma called Gandhi a 'Poor, illiterate fellow' claiming that he misunderstood what dynastic politics meant.
Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Rahul Gandhi should first understand what the meaning of dynastic politics is. He reportedly said, "First of all, when it is dynastic politics, he (Rahul Gandhi) must know the meaning of that. Amit Shah's son is not in the BJP, but his (Rahul Gandhi) entire family is in the Congress. So today, he slams everything but he does not know that he is the core reason of everything. So if a family -- mother, father, grandfather, sister everybody is in politics and controlling the party. where will he see a parallel to it?"
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Further, Sarma slammed Gandhi saying, "He thought BCCI is a BJP wing. Poor, illiterate fellow..." and questioned, "How does Amit Shah's son come into this debate?"
Sarma also mentioned that Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj Singh is an MLA and unlike Priyanka Gandhi, he does not control the BJP.
What did Rahul Gandhi say?
Rahul Gandhi during his recent Mizoram visit had addressed the BJP's claims of Congress being a dynastic party and questioned certain important ministers. Gandhi said, "What does Amit Shah's son do? What is he doing exactly? What does Rajnath Singh's son do? Last I heard Amit Shah's son is running Indian cricket. So please be objective. Look at the leaders of the BJP and ask yourselves what their children are doing. And you will find that many of their children -- Anurag Thakur -- are dynasties."
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This comment of Gandhi comes a few days after Shashi Tharoor was caught saying that Congress is a 'family-run' party which is the reason why he is not a Prime Minister candidate.
This blew up among the BJP leaders as they used it to charge Congress. Later Tharoor clarified his statement and said, "I see that a remark I made at a private event, which was not a formal statement crafted for public consumption, is being misrepresented by the usual people. Yes, I have frequently stated that the Nehru/Gandhi family's DNA is inextricably tied up with that of the Congress Party. The family is the strength of the party."
